Starkey & Mueller

A few NFL insiders believe CJ Stroud is available via trade. What will that cost? The Steelers have a dozen picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, which should have them open for business. Stroud is sour on people’s minds because he was horrible in the playoffs this year, even in the blowout win over the Steelers. He hasn’t gotten better since his rookie season, but it’s hard to not have any interest with a 24-year-old QB that has won a playoff game in all 3 seasons. One longtime Texans writer said he would stand naked at a busy intersection in Houston if the Texans trade Stroud. Things went very off the rails after that. ALL ACCESS w/ Aditi – Aditi said any NFL GM is going to look into any player that may be available in any given offseason, so the CJ Stroud story doesn’t have a ton of legs right now. Did Minnesota decide on Sam Darnold due to 2 bad games to end his season before signing in Seattle and winning a Super Bowl? Aditi said sometimes rookies catch the league by surprise, the way Stroud did in 2023. What i

Did we get an indication on what the Pirates are going to do with Konnor Griffin? It felt like Don Kelly gave a hint, in a recent interview with Shelby Cassessee, that Griffin could be looking at the first month of the season in Triple A. Do we all want him on the Opening Day roster? Griffin is 1 of their 9 best players, which should give him a role. If they had added another bat from someone on the left side of the infield, would that change your mind? Paul Skenes spent some time in Triple A, so would it be the worst thing if Griffin did the same? Kelly said it would be a ‘tough ask’ for Griffin to be here on Opening Day. The Tony Clark situation is… something. Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk joined the show. Mike had a quick reaction to the Tony Clark situation, even though that is baseball related. After Joey Porter spoke out about Ben Roethlisberger, the guys asked Mike if that would impact his Hall of Fame candidacy. Mike doesn’t think $40M for Malik Willis is outrageous at all because it’s only 6

Sidney Crosby was injured today in the latest matchup for Canada, a 4-3 OT win over Czechia. Is it time for NHL players to sit out of the games again? If Crosby’s season is over, is any of this worth it? The players aren’t forced to participate in the Olympics. If Crosby ever decided to not play in the games, it wouldn’t alter his legacy whatsoever. What if Paul Skenes didn’t want to pitch in the World Baseball Classic? Chris thinks a plus-sized exhibition shouldn’t be the reason Crosby loses his season, and possibly his final Olympic games. Do people care about the Olympics? Caller thinks the Miracle on Ice wouldn’t be a big deal if a movie wasn’t made. Former Penguin Tyler Kennedy joined the show. TK reacted to the Sidney Crosby injury that took place in the Canada-Czechia game earlier. Tyler said a pep talk from Sid would not mean the injury isn’t serious. Tyler’s initial thought is that it will keep him out of the Olympics, but hopefully not a ton of Penguins games in the back half of the season. Tyle

A source told Poni that there is a Steelers player everyone expects to be back that won’t be. Who could it be? This comes on the heels of Aditi telling us that the chances of Aaron Rodgers coming back is ‘miniscule.’ We wondered who the player could be. Which one would truly be a ‘surprise’ if they didn’t return?

ALL ACCESS w/ Aditi – Aditi said any NFL GM is going to look into any player that may be available in any given offseason, so the CJ Stroud story doesn’t have a ton of legs right now. Did Minnesota decide on Sam Darnold due to 2 bad games to end his season before signing in Seattle and winning a Super Bowl? Aditi said sometimes rookies catch the league by surprise, the way Stroud did in 2023. What is the Steelers’ ceiling if they decide to run it back with Aaron Rodgers in 2026? Aditi doesn’t buy into all of the belief that Rodgers will be back in Pittsburgh next season – going as far to say the chances are ‘miniscule.’ Aditi thinks there is a roughly equal chance that Malik Willis is the Steelers QB in comparison to Rodgers.

A few NFL insiders believe CJ Stroud is available via trade. What will that cost? The Steelers have a dozen picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, which should have them open for business. Stroud is sour on people’s minds because he was horrible in the playoffs this year, even in the blowout win over the Steelers. He hasn’t gotten better since his rookie season, but it’s hard to not have any interest with a 24-year-old QB that has won a playoff game in all 3 seasons. One longtime Texans writer said he would stand naked at a busy intersection in Houston if the Texans trade Stroud.

Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk joined the show. Mike had a quick reaction to the Tony Clark situation, even though that is baseball related. After Joey Porter spoke out about Ben Roethlisberger, the guys asked Mike if that would impact his Hall of Fame candidacy. Mike doesn’t think $40M for Malik Willis is outrageous at all because it’s only 66.6% of what the quarterback market is. Does anyone out there want Tyreek Hill? Mike thinks there are enough teams that can use him and enough that want him that would look passed the off-the-field issues and his injury. Mike said the Steelers drafting Ty Simpson would be the clearest sign that the team isn’t as giddy on Will Howard as they made it sound. He said their open love for Howard could be a way to move teams off the scent. After Sam Darnold won the Super Bowl, is it a requirement to have a superstar QB? Mike has never met Snoop Dogg despite being at several big events.

Did we get an indication on what the Pirates are going to do with Konnor Griffin? It felt like Don Kelly gave a hint, in a recent interview with Shelby Cassessee, that Griffin could be looking at the first month of the season in Triple A. Do we all want him on the Opening Day roster? Griffin is 1 of their 9 best players, which should give him a role. If they had added another bat from someone on the left side of the infield, would that change your mind? Paul Skenes spent some time in Triple A, so would it be the worst thing if Griffin did the same? Kelly said it would be a ‘tough ask’ for Griffin to be here on Opening Day.

Former Penguin Tyler Kennedy joined the show. TK reacted to the Sidney Crosby injury that took place in the Canada-Czechia game earlier. Tyler said a pep talk from Sid would not mean the injury isn’t serious. Tyler’s initial thought is that it will keep him out of the Olympics, but hopefully not a ton of Penguins games in the back half of the season. Tyler thinks there was a little maliciousness behind the hit from Radko Gudas that knocked Crosby out of the game. Tyler gave some insight on how much it means for Canadians to play in the Olympics or international games. TK isn’t convinced the United States get by Sweden later today.

Sidney Crosby was injured today in the latest matchup for Canada, a 4-3 OT win over Czechia. Is it time for NHL players to sit out of the games again? If Crosby’s season is over, is any of this worth it? The players aren’t forced to participate in the Olympics. If Crosby ever decided to not play in the games, it wouldn’t alter his legacy whatsoever. What if Paul Skenes didn’t want to pitch in the World Baseball Classic? Chris thinks a plus-sized exhibition shouldn’t be the reason Crosby loses his season, and possibly his final Olympic games.

PM Team FULL Show 2-17-26

There is more optimism around the Pirates than there has been in roughly a decade. We have seen them make some moves between now and then, but going into the season, the team has the reigning Cy Young winner, the top prospect in all of baseball and added nearly 70 home runs this offseason. Chris thinks even the most pessimistic of fans have to acknowledge that the Pirates are better, at least on paper, than they have been in the last several seasons. Chris wants to see a massive jump after the team won just 71 games in 2025. It got better under Don Kelly, but they still weren’t a .500 team under his watch. Would it be a disappointment if they don’t make the playoffs? The potential work stoppage in 2027 should be scary. Chris won’t be satisfied with a .500 season – he wants a playoff berth. What is an acceptable season for the 2026 Pirates? More calls on the Buccos. Is optimism high?

Field Yates is one of the draft experts with Ty Simpson going to the Steelers 21st overall in his early mock drafts. Can the Steelers turn him into a franchise QB? Is he a force multiplier to an NFL offense? But do you need that in the NFL anymore? The last 2 QBs to win Super Bowls are Sam Darnold and Jalen Hurts – neither of which are considered upper echelon. It’s fair to point out that the rosters in Seattle and Philly were so dominant otherwise, it didn’t matter a ton. The Steelers roster isn’t there yet. Does it make sense to take a flier or give Will Howard the shot we are all talking about? NFL Draft analyst Ryan Wilson from CBS Sports joined the show. Does Ryan think it would make sense for the Steelers to go QB in the 1st round? Ryan said Ty Simpson has tools of a legitimate night one player, but the end of his season will scare some teams away. Ryan ultimately feels like there’s a good chance Simpson goes in the 1st round. Ryan went through a few positions that are deep and how deep of the class i

Oneil Cruz was a disappointing player in 2025, but was it one of false hope? Early on, it looked like Cruz had figured things out, showing off a .902 OPS across March and April. May was OK, but things really tailed off as we got into the summer months. He only hit 8 home runs in the final 4 months of the season. Is he the forgotten man in the Pirates lineup? The front office went out and signed 69 home runs worth of power this offseason and the organization touts the #1 prospect in all of baseball, Konnor Griffin. Does that ease the pressure for Cruz? Everything also orbits around Paul Skenes, the reigning NL Cy Young. The existence of the new bats, Griffin and Skenes takes some off Cruz’s shoulders. What will the Pirates lineup look like? Is it getting late early for Cruz or is he entering his hypothetical prime? Cruz was flailing and failing in the back half of 2025, so it feels like things can only go up. Chris is afraid to say Cruz will finally blossom, but he can be the biggest pivot point for the 2026 P

Chris is tired of hearing about the ongoing beef among former Steelers. It was all started with Joey Porter taking a massive shot at Ben Roethlisberger while also sneaking one in on James Harrison in the process. Ben has yet to respond, but Deebo responded yesterday. This is all podcast fodder. The irony is that fans claim to us that the players just want to play, but it’s players that are keeping this news cycle going. We speculated which podcast will get going about it next. Maybe Ryan Clark will get all of these guys together for an episode of The Pivot. Do fans care if former Steelers all get along? Sports Court w/ our friends from Edgar Snyder & Associates. Today, Chris asked Nick and Rob about the NFL vs NFLPA battle in regards to the ‘report cards’ that have been made public over the last few years. What are the consequences here and could the players fight back to make the reports public again? Tony Clark resigned from his lead role for the players in Major League Baseball as the league quickl

There is more optimism around the Pirates than there has been in roughly a decade. We have seen them make some moves between now and then, but going into the season, the team has the reigning Cy Young winner, the top prospect in all of baseball and added nearly 70 home runs this offseason. Chris thinks even the most pessimistic of fans have to acknowledge that the Pirates are better, at least on paper, than they have been in the last several seasons. Chris wants to see a massive jump after the team won just 71 games in 2025. It got better under Don Kelly, but they still weren’t a .500 team under his watch. Would it be a disappointment if they don’t make the playoffs? The potential work stoppage in 2027 should be scary. Chris won’t be satisfied with a .500 season – he wants a playoff berth.

NFL Draft analyst Ryan Wilson from CBS Sports joined the show. Does Ryan think it would make sense for the Steelers to go QB in the 1st round? Ryan said Ty Simpson has tools of a legitimate night one player, but the end of his season will scare some teams away. Ryan ultimately feels like there’s a good chance Simpson goes in the 1st round. Ryan went through a few positions that are deep and how deep of the class is overall.

Field Yates is one of the draft experts with Ty Simpson going to the Steelers 21st overall in his early mock drafts. Can the Steelers turn him into a franchise QB? Is he a force multiplier to an NFL offense? But do you need that in the NFL anymore? The last 2 QBs to win Super Bowls are Sam Darnold and Jalen Hurts – neither of which are considered upper echelon. It’s fair to point out that the rosters in Seattle and Philly were so dominant otherwise, it didn’t matter a ton. The Steelers roster isn’t there yet. Does it make sense to take a flier or give Will Howard the shot we are all talking about?

Which player is worthier of the HOF – Dave Parker or Andrew McCutchen? Parker is already in, but Chris thinks neither guy should be in there. He labeled both as ‘Hall of Very Good’ players. Chris said Juan Soto is already in if Parker is in.

Oneil Cruz was a disappointing player in 2025, but was it one of false hope? Early on, it looked like Cruz had figured things out, showing off a .902 OPS across March and April. May was OK, but things really tailed off as we got into the summer months. He only hit 8 home runs in the final 4 months of the season. Is he the forgotten man in the Pirates lineup? The front office went out and signed 69 home runs worth of power this offseason and the organization touts the #1 prospect in all of baseball, Konnor Griffin. Does that ease the pressure for Cruz? Everything also orbits around Paul Skenes, the reigning NL Cy Young. The existence of the new bats, Griffin and Skenes takes some off Cruz’s shoulders. What will the Pirates lineup look like? Is it getting late early for Cruz or is he entering his hypothetical prime? Cruz was flailing and failing in the back half of 2025, so it feels like things can only go up. Chris is afraid to say Cruz will finally blossom, but he can be the biggest pivot point for the 2026 P